PHARMA LITERATI

Digital pharmacy startups are rapidly disrupting the pharmacy sector and continue to land significant venture capital funding deals. Pharmacy startup Capsule scored $200 million in a series C funding round led by venture capital firm TCV. Capsule’s existing investors Thrive Capital and Glade Brook Capital Partners also participated. The startup had previously raised $70 million and plans to expand outside of New York City to more large cities in the next 18 to 36 months, according to Bloomberg. India-based digital pharmacy startup Digi-Prex is leveraging the popularity of WhatsApp to provide consumers with prescriptions and to help manage chronic diseases. The company secured $5.5 million in its seed round of funding, led by Khosla Ventures. Vedanta Capital, Y Combinator, Quiet Capital and SV Angel also joined the round. Patients can share prescriptions online or via Whatsapp, pay a subscription fee on a monthly basis and get access to discounted medicines delivered to their ...

With 65 per cent of its population below the age of 35, India, at a median age of 29 years, is using digital technology to actively get in touch with doctors, using both online and offline channels, according to Practo, India’s largest digital healthcare platform in its third edition of India’s annual healthcare map, highlighting key consumer healthcare trends, concerns and behaviour. The healthcare map has been compiled from data of hundreds of thousands of searches and appointments, by over 13 crore patients, across more than 50 cities and more than 250 specialities, in 2018. As India ages over the coming years, the company sees this number going up. Japan, for instance, at a median age of 47, visits doctors 13 times, while the US at a median age of 37, visits doctors a little over four times. According to Practo Insights report, three primary causes driving this trend include: Greater awareness: More information about diseases, illness from varied sources; increas...